This invention relates to flame retardant compounds which may be contacted with organic substances to reduce the tendency of the organic substance to flame.
For reasons of customer demand, government regulations, and product stewardship, those manufacturing and selling organic substances, particularly synthetic resins, have sought to reduce the tendency of those substances to flame. A suitable flame retardant additive must be economical to purchase, relatively nontoxic, easy to incorporate into the organic substance, nonmigrating, and effective at reducing the tendency of the substance to flame.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,349,045 (1967, Union Carbide (Gilch)) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,124 (1968, Union Carbide (Gilch)) teach the preparation of poly(.alpha.,.alpha.,.alpha.',.alpha.'-tetrachloro-p-xylene), also know as PTCPX, and its use in preparing films. V. W. Gash, The Reaction of Trichloromethyl Aromatic Compounds with Triethyl Phosphite, J. Org. Chem., V. 32, p. 2007 (1967 June), discusses several theories concerning the synthesis mechanism of PTCPX. None of these references teach the use of PTCPX as a flame retardant additive for other polymers.